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‘We want to show how far the women’s game has come’ – Simmons on FA Cup Final

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Sportshour: ‘We want to show how far the women’s game has come’ – Simmons on FA Cup Final

Discussion & Talk

04/12/2021 GMT

BBC World Service - Sportshour, ‘We want to show how far the women’s game has come’ – Simmons on FA Cup Final

The FA’s Kelly Simmons on how far the women’s game has come throughout the years

The FA’s Kelly Simmons on how far the women’s game has come throughout the years.

The Football Association director of the Women’s Professional Game – Kelly Simmons - tells us 5 December was chosen as the date for this year’s women’s FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Chelsea as it marks the 100 anniversary of the governing body banning women’s football. Simmons describes that decision as probably the lowest point in the history of the game and says the FA are keen to be positive about the day and celebrate how far the women’s game has come in the years since. Simmons also discusses what needs to change in international football following a series of one sided Fifa World Cup Qualifiers – including England’s 20-0 win over Latvia this week.
 
Jamaica netball captain Jhaniele Fowler tells us how she didn’t let a serious heart condition she developed as a child, stop her pursuing a career in sport. Fowler has only just stopped taking medication for rheumatic heart disease. She also tells us how her playing schedule and the Covid-19 pandemic have combined to keep her and her daughter apart for the last two netball seasons. Fowler describes surprising her daughter by arriving home from overseas unannounced and how her dream is to have her on the podium with her at a Commonwealth Games or World Cup.
 
Fiona Brady, a Special Olympian who has represented Ireland in Basketball, Tenpin Bowling and Floorball, joins us to discuss the impact of not being able to play sport during the Covid-19 pandemic has had on her. This week saw International day of persons with disabilities take place and a new campaign called "Faces of Basketball" is aiming to give people with intellectual disabilities the confidence to return to sport.  
 
In Sporting Witness, we return to 1961, when England’s top players threatened strike action in order to force the Football League to scrap its limit on wages of 20 pounds a week. Their victory was a turning point for the sport as it ushered in the modern era of football mega-salaries. The late England captain Jimmy Armfield, gives us his recollections of the period.
 
And – we’re live in Saudi Arabia with Jennie Gow ahead of the first ever Formula 1 race in the country, John Southall is at the London Stadium ahead of West Ham United v Chelsea in the Premier League and Jamie Broughton joins us with the latest from the UK Snooker Championship.

(Photo: FA Women’s Super League match between Arsenal and Chelsea, London, 2021. Credit: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

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